Warm Season Crops

In Florida we have 2 seasons when we can grow warm weather crops - spring and early fall. The spring planting season is from late January until the end of March for most warm weather crops. Most warm season crops will flourish until around Memorial Day. By the beginning of June we are starting to enter the hot summer season in central Florida, and a lot of the spring crops will not do very well once summer arrives. In spring, warm season crops can be transplanted or direct seeded after danger of the last frost has passed. This interactive map is handy for figuring out your average last frost date. In my region the average last frost is supposed to be between February 10th and February 20th. However, it is usually earlier. I don't recall getting any frost/freezes in February in my region, though I'm sure it can happen. I typically start transplanting and direct seeding in early February. During mild winters, I can even start transplanting or direct seeding even in late January, but it depends on the weather pattern. If we had a cold winter, then I would wait longer to transplant. It should be noted that if you are starting your vegetables from seed, then you need to start early for vegetables in the nightshade family. These include tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. These vegetables take a long time to begin producing fruit, so I start my seeds indoors in early January to get a jump on the spring planting season. Typically all of the cool season veggies, herbs, and greens are still growing and thriving at the beginning of spring, so for several months there is overlap of the cool and warm season crops in the spring. A second warm weather growing season begins in early fall. Warm season crops can be planted again in August and September for a late fall/early winter harvest.

The chart below was adapted from the University of Florida IFAS Extension Gardening Guide, which is a great resource for vegetable gardening. The time ranges shown in the chart are all approximations, which can vary slightly from region to region, and from year to year. I added information about starting your seeds indoors, and I used the typical times that are commonly recommended. However, if you keep your house as warm as I do (around 70 - 80 degrees), then you can take a week off of the time from planting seeds to transplanting outdoors. Seeds will germinate and grow much faster if the temperature indoors is above 70 degrees, which means they will be ready to transplant sooner. Note: The Days to Harvest is the number of days from when seeds are planted until they are ready to be harvested. The days listed in parentheses are the number of days from transplants to first harvest.

Warm Season Vegetables For Your Central Florida Garden

Bean (Fabaceae) Family
Crop	Outdoor Planting Dates (Central)	Indoor Seed Planting	Days to Harvest	Transplants Easily	Transplant Carefully	Direct Seed
Beans, bush	Feb–Apr Aug–Sept		45–60			x
Beans, lima	Feb–Mar Aug–Sept		60–80			x
Beans, pole	Feb–Apr Aug–Sept		50–70			x
Peas, southern	Feb–Aug		75–90			x

Grass (Poaceae) Family
Crop	Outdoor Planting Dates (Central)	Indoor Seed Planting	Days to Harvest	Transplants Easily	Transplant Carefully	Direct Seed
Corn, sweet	Jan–Apr		65–90			x

Hibiscus (Malvaceae) Family
Crop	Outdoor Planting Dates (Central)	Indoor Seed Planting	Days to Harvest	Transplants Easily	Transplant Carefully	Direct Seed
Okra	Feb–Aug		60–70			x

Squash (Cucurbitaccae) Family
Crop	Outdoor Planting Dates (Central)	Indoor Seed Planting	Days to Harvest	Transplants Easily	Transplant Carefully	Direct Seed
Cantaloupes	Jan–Mar		85–110 (70–90)			x
Cucumbers	Jan–Mar Sept		40–65			x
Pumpkin	Mid July		80–100 (70–90)			x
Squash, Summer	Jan–Apr Aug–Sept		40–50			x
Squash, Winter	Jan–Apr Aug–Sept		85–120			x
Watermelon	Jan–Mar		80–100 (60–90)			x

Tomato (Solanaceae) Family
Crop	Outdoor Planting Dates (Central)	Indoor Seed Planting	Days to Harvest	Transplants Easily	Transplant Carefully	Direct Seed
Eggplant	Jan–Feb Aug–Sept	Start seeds 4 -6 weeks before transplant date.	90–115 (70–90)	x
Peppers	Jan–Mar Aug–Sept	Start seeds 4 -6 weeks before transplant date.	90–100 (65–75)	x
Potatoes, Irish	Nov–Feb	Can start seedlings from potato "eyes" that are growing spuds 4 - 6 weeks (or less) before transplanting	85–110		x
Tomatoes	Jan–Feb Aug–Sept	Start seeds 4-5 weeks before transplant date.	90–110 (70–90)	x